Our idea: Making small content video once a week. A 30 second to a minute video about e-commerce and digital marketing. I will explain terms related to digital marketing, marketing ideas, eCommerce ideas, or how certain things work.

So it could be about:

• the Facebook conversion pixel.
• Ads on Google (AdWords for example)
• How to collect email addresses?
• Remarketing ( how to use it and what it is?)
• Tips on shipping (how to do it and ways to save on shipping)
• Tips on product photography
• Tips on description writing
• SEO tips

So, it’s going to be mostly tips to help you demystify e-commerce and demystify digital marketing.

Follow us on our Facebook page Mister eCommerce, follow us all over social media and you will receive these great tips.

The fields to register will be at the bottom of the page!

So thanks! It was David for MistereCommerce.com

The post Signup for the weekly ecommerce tip! appeared first on Mr eCommerce.

The Government of Canada and Quebec, in addition to not supporting Quebec’s electronic commerce, seem to be encouraging US e-commerce.

You’ll see by the numbers 

First, there was Peter Simons last year who made a public outing at the Hop Salon! of the CQCD by saying that it was less profitable to do business in Quebec, but that doing business online was even less profitable because it was necessary to charge the GST-QST to consumers.

I have the impression that the small 15% of GST-QST does not change much, mainly because we see the GST-QST returned to the shopping cart, at the end, when the credit card is presented. I feel that the problem comes from elsewhere and you will see with the numbers that I will give you that it is still ridiculous.

So I asked my client who, by the way is a medium-sized merchant. It’s not someone who ships 3 parcels a day, it’s someone who ships a few hundred parcels a month. A merchant who lives well on the internet, and who does great online business.

I asked him: give me the shipping price for a pair of sunglasses. A pair of sunglasses is about the size of a smart phone once it’s packed. It’s still relatively small. He tells me that 80% of the parcels bought on the Internet come in the format and the weight of a pair of  sunglasses.

What is the weight? It was approximately 100-113g that we calculated to make our shipping submissions.

You’ll see, it just does not make sense …

I asked him: Do it as if you were sending a pair of  sunglasses to Sainte-Brigitte de Laval, this is the village where I was born on the northern edge of Quebec. The postal code is G0A 3K0. Because there is a 0 to the 2nd character it is considered rural but I can assure you that today it is not as rural as when I was born.

So I said, Ok, you’re in Montreal. Make it as if you wanted to send a pair of sunglasses to Sainte-Brigitte de Laval.

So from Montreal to Sainte-Brigitte de Laval, Canada Post charges $ 14.74 Canadian to ship a pair of sunglasses from Montreal to Sainte-Brigitte. It is about 25min north of Quebec City.

I asked him: Let’s say you took your car and crossed the US customs to ship your package, how much would it cost? So I made the $ US $ CAD conversion. It would cost $ 3.17 Canadian to ship the same pair of sunglasses from US Customs to Sainte-Brigitte from Laval to Quebec City.

It makes no sense.

3.17 $ from the USA and 14.74 $ from Montreal!

It’s 3-4 times more expensive to ship the same pair of sunglasses.

It’s already hard for Canadian merchants, how do you expect them to compete with a low rates like that. Then necessarily they have to raise their price by $ 11. Clearly because the shipping will cost $ 11 more.

$ 11 for a pair of glasses that can be worth 20, 100 is still a major difference.

Do you want to know the best?

With this $ 3- 4 shipping fee: what’s going on? It’s Canada Post who carries the package anyway!
It’s Canada Post that carries the parcel! That’s the biggest aberration!

The pair of smoked glasses that will cost $ 14 to ship from Montreal to Quebec … it is Canada Post who will pick it up from the merchant and will take it to the customer in Quebec.
The same pair of smoked glasses that will cost US $ 3 in Quebec City, USPS takes the pair of glasses at the merchant, Canada Post picks it up and transports it to the customer in Quebec City!

You see? It is the same route, it is Canada Post that will charge 3-4 times more to our Quebec merchants!

That’s the aberration in the end because it’s the same company, it’s the same mileage …

Another example: Canada-Europe

Let’s say that our Canadian merchants in Quebec wanted to ship the same pair of sunglasses to Europe. Exporting is good for the economy.

If they were shipping the same pair of glasses in Europe, it would cost $ 40.59 with Canada Post from Montreal, meanwhile if they take their car to go to US Customs to ship from the US, we are talking about 7,60$ Canadian.

So $ 7 from the US, $ 40 if it’s from Canada.

I mean, it’s impossible: how do you expect our eCommerce from to do business in Europe
It’s expensive! It’s a huge barrier …

We’re talking about $ 33 more shipping. $ 33 on an 100$ item. it’s 33% more expensive. Besides, there is the GST / QST in all of this and a tax system, but we are not supposed to charge taxes to customers outside Quebec outside of Canada.

Example: Ship to Japan

Let’s say you want to ship to the rest of the world. In Japan, the same pair of smoked glasses will cost CAD $ 8.43 shipped from the US, $ 43.63 shipped from Canada. I don’t know if you realize the difference, we’re talking about a $ 35 difference.

The result?

Well, in Quebec it makes it very difficult, if not impossible to sell online.

You can ship your merchandise to the United States and return it to your customers in Canada. You are going to be able to have similar rates that are roughly 66% cheaper.

But nonetheless, for a small merchant who launches his online shop … I do not understand how governments think they will survive, but with rates like that, it’s impossible!

Support Please?

Somewhere else the Government or Canada Post will decide to help our traders here.

You may know the statistics: $ 3/4 spent by Quebecers online is sent out of Quebec. $ 3 out of 4. That means there’s only one dollar left here.

But think about it: why would a Quebecer buy on the internet at a Quebec dealer when it’s going to cost $ 3 if he buys from a US merchant in difference of $ 14 if he buys at a Quebec dealer? It makes no sense!

The solution?

Do business with US consolidators or with Quebec companies that have offices in the US and can ship your merchandise from the US to Quebec consumers. This is the only solution, if not, we are just not in the “game” in Quebec. We can not be in the “game” with shipping rates like this!

The post Why is Quebec e-commerce at a disadvantage appeared first on Mr eCommerce.

You should know that it is possible to photograph a large quantity of products in a short period of time. To succeed in this project, you will have to advocate a well-structured working method from the start. This will help you save a lot of time while getting the results you really want.

My name is Joseph Brouillard and I am a photographer for Mister eCommerce. In this article, I will give

you some essential tips for a successful shooting.

Evaluate locations and required installation

Here are the questions you’ll have to ask yourself to get started:

Will the external light sources harm my work?
Will I have enough space to work?
What background should I use, retro-lit or white background?

As far as the background is concerned, the Retro-lit background will be very useful when you are clipping with Adobe Lightroom. On the other hand, if you want to keep a shadow, then the white background will be recommended!

Turning on your device

When your camera is turned on, you must make sure that when you open it, the pictures will be taken in the best quality and format! Even today, it is a mistake that I happen to make from time to time. A small oversight that can have unfortunate consequences on the quality of the finished product. By developing this habit, you will be sure to start your photo session the right way!

Which operating mode to choose?

For the product photography, the manual mode is recommended. Since the shooting is done in the studio and there are multiple light sources to manage, I recommend that you set the aperture and shutter speed manually. Thus, you remain master of your device! Your images will be much sharper, which will add value to your site.

White Balance

You might be tempted by the automatic mode, AWB. It is simpler, faster and requires no adjustment. However, I advise against it; You need to know that the different light sources (halogen light, sun, neon, etc.) do not all have the same color temperature. By choosing the automatic option in these situations, your camera will mislead you with all these different color temperatures. You may get a finished product with a pink complexion.

When working under projector, the custom mode is indicated.

Here are 5 steps to perform a effective white balance:

1.Take a photo of a blank sheet
2.Enable Custom White Balance
3.Select the photo containing the blank sheet and validate
4.Choose the “Custom White Balance” setting by pressing “WB” on your device
5.You are ready to take pictures!
By following these steps, you will avoid unpleasant surprises and you will have the right colors.

Which angle should you use?

Each product is different, so it is possible that you need to use different shots for certain products. You

have to find the ideal position, the one that highlights your product.

It is with experimentation that you will find your answer. So you need to test different angles and different approaches with the zoom, while trying somethings with the product until you find the best position.

For those who have several types of products to shoot, keep in mind that your photos must be homogeneous, so they must all be taken at the same angles. Your website will benefit greatly!

Using a Tripod

Just a little destabilization or a slight involuntary movement, and now your images have lost quality. Do not take any chances, you can avoid unpleasant mistakes using a tripod. This one will assure your pictures stable. You will be able to use the zoom without losing resolution and your photos will have the brightness sought. In addition, it will greatly help for the homogeneity of your pictures.

The photographer’s kit

When it comes to photographing all sorts of different products (shapes, sizes, colors, textures and materials), there are different must have tools that a photographer will need :

White cardboard: very useful when external light creates a shadow or an unwanted reflection
Blue gum, sticky tape, glue etc. : Useful, when there is a corner roll up
Rope, always practical to hold a product up,
Gray or black cardboard, to bring out the color of the product when it is white.
Etc.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of the ingenuity you need to photograph products.

Sometimes you’ll need ingenuity in order to photograph products of all formats from different angles and conditions that change from one photoshoot to another. Having a good game plan and good working methods is essential, but you also need to know how to improvise to adapt to circumstances and unforeseen circumstances, you’ll come upon them, believe me!

In conclusion, taking your time to settle down is the key. Once you are properly set up, your camera’s settings are adjust to your needs and the light is well adjusted, lean towards the sensor and take a look at it. Look at the product and tell him “You do not move anymore and smile …” click !!!

Questions, comments or objections?

The post 7 tips on product photography appeared first on Mr eCommerce.

A traditional photographer

Look at those pictures, they are numbered by chronological order.

These are the kind of document you’re going to receive by doing business with a traditional photographer.

Roughly, they will take pictures of your 500 products at home, 3 photos per product and they’ll deliver 1500 photos to a usb key or a small external hard drive with numbers like that.

At first glance, it sounds good, however, when the time comes and you have to go on your ecommerce to :

1.Create a new product
2.Put a title on your photo
3.Write a description
4.Associate the photos with your product.

At this point, there is nothing that looks more like a photo than another photo with a different number.

It’s not so practical! Seriously, this is really not ideal.
Think about it: if you have products that look alike, t-shirts that are very similar, or black shoes and you have 10 consecutive pairs of black shoes … it can easily become a big problem!

The difference between a traditional photographer and Mr. eCommerce?

At MisterEcommerce.com, we have invented a way that allows us to deliver renamed photos according to your needs!

For example, this customer asked us to rename the images according to their internal SKU.
So when they need to find a product, it’s very easy!

It’s really interesting …
There are also other examples: you can ask us to rename your photos according to a barcode or a UPC, (barcode_the number of the view front.jpg, back.jpg Example: 01239854823_front.jpg

You can ask us to use the product name to make it SEO-friendly.
You can ask us to put the code of the product with the color …

The possibilities are truly endless.

Here are some examples:

The advantage?

There are several, but it’s mainly for the SEO factor, it will really help.

The second advantage is that it makes it easier for you to find your pictures.

The third advantage, when it comes to adding products one by one, it makes it much easier for you to distinguish which product is connected to which photo.

At MistereCommerce, this particular service is only 75 ¢ per product, no matter how many products you have. That’s why I showed you the importance of it, it’s a must! See our rates for more details.

Other advantages?

Of course, the renaming service represents an great advantage of doing business with Mr. eCommerce. On the other hand, it is not the only one! The turnkey concept of Mr. eCommerce is also worthy of mention, it is a unique offer in Quebec.

I remind you; Mr. eCommerce takes pictures (3 simultaneous photos / product), write your descriptions and imports all your products to your site. In addition, the mr.eCommerce team comes on premise. No product photographer offer these services in particular, at the cheap price of Mr. eCommerce (starting $ 7 / product).

The post The main difference between a traditional photographer and Mister eCommerce appeared first on Mr eCommerce.